


i knew you would come.

by kortu



Category: Alexander (2004), Alexander Trilogy - Mary Renault, Historical RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:45:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6129557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kortu/pseuds/kortu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>alexander wakes hephaestion in the middle of the night, and give themselves over to their desires.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i knew you would come.

there were two guards standing outside, their shadows being embraced by the night. alexander was standing on the cold stone, hiding behind a marble column. he should have worn his sandals, but they make too much noise. he learnt it a long time ago, that sneaking out in the middle of the night is best to be done barefoot.  
he patiently waited until one of the guards, kessos started walking in the opposite direction, reaching the left wing, walking through the corridors and coming back, forming a full circle.

he had three minutes.

he used the echoes of kessos’s footsteps to his advantage. while the other guard was busy studying the tilt of his sword, alexander picked up his pace and sneaked into the chamber at the end of the corridor. he knew the door would be open, barricaded with soft pillows, so if someone were to come in during the middle of the night, they could, without making a racket. as he stepped inside, he pushed the pillows back and placed a three-legged stool right to the door.

the moon was shining bright through the window, alexander could make out the shape of the sleeping figure on the bed, lying on his stomach, the blanket tucked under him, covering his legs and half of his back. one of his arms was halfway to the floor. alexander knew hephaestion was exhausted the previous night. thirty spears thrown, five swordfights, wrestling and the two-hour ride made him look like a walking oxygala drenched in dirt and sweat. he only slept on his stomach, rolling onto the bed with half-wet skin after emerging from the baths, when he was really tired.

alexander did not want to disturb him in his sleep. this time, he just wanted to–.

he didn’t know what he wanted.

he wanted to ask hephaestion to leave his duties behind. no one would have said anything, if he stopped showing up at the trainings with the soldiers. not to their faces at least. even at fifteen, hephaestion was a valuable young man, bound to stay by alexander’s side. alexander, stubborn as he was, had learnt to take hephaestion’s advice, and he also knew they both had to be in shape for whatever was coming. he would make everything a little easier for him, if he only let him.

he tiptoed over to the window and opened it. it was the middle of june, unbearably hot, but the chill midnight breeze chased the last dregs of sleep out of his eyes. he turned to the bed, slowly putting his knee on the bedding, climbing next to hephaestion. he was holding his breath until he lay down beside him. he didn’t want anything to disturb him, he would stay like this all night, guarding his dreams. and he would be the first hephaestion would see in the morning, blinking sleepily.

he could see the scars on hephaestion’s back and shoulder, each telling a different story. hephaestion’s body was begging to be read and alexander knew every inch, from the roots of his light chestnut-brown hair to the tips of his toes, yet he was helpless, hungry to explore every scarred surface, every delicate bit.

‘i knew you would come,’ the words left hephaestion’s mouth, barely audible.

he didn’t notice hephaestion’s breathing change. he never does.

it caught him off guard, and hoped hephaestion wouldn’t move. he wasn’t ready to look into his eyes, colour of the deep-blue sea before a storm.  
he didn’t. he just lay there for a minute, pulling his arm back to his chest.  
‘i couldn’t sleep,’ alexander admitted.  
that was only half-true. he always slept better in hephaestion’s bed, although they were barely sleeping at all.  
‘what troubles you, alexander?’ he still sounded sleepy.  
alexander’s heart filled with a familiar warmth. of course hephaestion would want him to talk, to make him let everything go that’s trying to bury him under. he felt his lips curl upwards.  
‘nothing, anymore,’ he said.

he was still looking at the scars on his back, half of them comes from the training arena, one, just below his shoulder-blade, comes from alexander. they had been sparring with wooden swords, and then, knives. hephaestion turned too slowly, and alexander wasn’t careful, he was trying to win, for once, and the knife scratched the skin on his back, barely, but still visible. alexander always enjoyed training with hephaestion, never holding back, but even now he felt the anger rising in him, because he had not been careful enough.

‘i’m wearing your mark,’ hephaestion said, as alexander un-selfconsciously traced the tiny straight line with his finger, causing him to fall back to reality. ‘you’re with me, always.’  
he let out a breath.  
he shouldn’t have been surprised that hephaestion would turn it into something beautiful. he had the capability of seeing things for what they were; under the disguise of those ugly scars, the memory of something hauntingly graceful, hiding.

alexander thought of being with hephaestion only a few hours ago, escorting him back to his rooms, going down to the river, and before the trainings, eating breakfast together. they rarely spent time apart. it was impossible not to be with him. it was always too much, and never enough. he wished it could be like this, always. to lie awake in bed while the palace was sleeping, to be in the only place he belonged to, by the side of hephaestion, his fingers touching the soft skin of his arm, tracing his muscles.

‘this is new,’ alexander said, surprised by his own voice escaping his mouth. his finger slipped down to the edge of the silk, and stopped. it was a new scar, not fully healed, still hardened, touching it felt like running his hand through a piece of chopped wood.  
hephaestion reacted immediately. he pushed himself up, and slowly turned under the silk blanket, carefully clutching it. whatever he was going to say, the look in alexander’s eyes stopped him.  
‘is it?’ hephaestion said, casually, and reached to his waist to touch it, as if he was chasing a ghost there. ‘huh.’  
the look did not go away. they were gazing at each other.  
‘it probably happened during one of the trainings,’ hephaestion said. ‘i will ask the physician for a salve.’  
alexander stayed quiet. he knew that hephaestion was going to talk once he was ready. that moment did not come. he lay down instead, on his side, looking up at alexander, at his golden curls shining in the moonlight.  
alexander was waiting.  
‘why did you come?’ hephaestion said eventually.  
‘were you hoping i would?’ alexander indicated to the pillows by the door with his chin.  
‘i was hoping to sleep,’ hephaestion said, but his voice was free of annoyance. ‘but i know i couldn’t stop you, even if i tried.’  
‘was it him?’ alexander asked, breaking the shy smile hovering on hephaestion’s lips. ‘what did he do to you?’ his voice was demanding. he felt that hephaestion knew he couldn’t stall now.  
‘nothing,’ hephaestion said, into the stillness. then, ‘it was my fault. i said something i shouldn’t have. you’re not the only one with a temper, alexander.’  
‘let me do something.’  
hephaestion’s eyes were wide. ‘no.’ it came out too loud.  
‘he can’t get away with this, i won’t let him.’  
he felt the stiffness in his body, his hands curl into fists. the words in his throat were bitter, tasted like anger. it took him a long moment to realise that hephaestion was holding his hand, clutching it by his own chest.

hephaestion didn’t want anyone to know what kind of a man his father was, alexander knew that. maybe a boyish hope prevented him from seeing the man who has raised him for what he was, maybe getting help would have made him acknowledge something hephaestion didn’t want to. but alexander wasn’t going to watch hephaestion getting destroyed by the hands of someone who claimed to love him. love was not supposed to hurt.  
‘you have to,’ hephaestion said. ‘you have to let me deal with him. please.’  
he was looking at him with pleading eyes, grasping his hand more tightly.  
‘please.’  
alexander let out a sigh. he wasn’t going to let it go, they both knew that. but selfishly enough, he didn’t want to ruin his chance to be with hephaestion. the nights were the only time they were completely alone, when he was fully his.  
‘you’re smiling,’ hephaestion said, looking confused.  
‘you don’t belong to him,’ alexander said. ‘you don’t belong to anyone. you are your own person, hephaestion, even if you don’t believe it. i will prove it to you, one day.’  
hephaestion had to look away, it was too sweet. ‘you don’t know what you’re saying.’  
after a moment, ‘no. you’re always better with words than i am.’

alexander slowly broke free of his touch, and led his hand to the edge of hephaestion’s jaw, carefully touching the bruise there, looking for hesitation in his eyes. hephaestion was holding himself very still, he could feel his rapid pulse as his thumb passed over his cheekbone, brushing his hair out of his face, moving his fingers down to his neck. he felt his own skin tearing up when hephaestion traced the lines of his chest with warm fingers, and moved them down to alexander’s waist, gently pulling him closer.

it was too much.

he was dizzy by the idea that hephaestion wanted him here, wanted him closer.  
his palm was resting on hephaestion’s warm nape, he could feel hephaestion’s flickering breath on his own lips, tasting like sweet promises. he wanted to close the distance between them, but he couldn’t take his eyes off hephaestion, his beauty was breath-taking, from the slightly raised eyebrows to his soft, thin lips. he needed all of his self-control to repress his desire, that was burning his body from the inside, he felt suddenly hot by the heat radiating from hephaestion’s skin. he was so close.

hephaestion’s hand found its way to his neck, his touch felt like pouring a glassful of wine on the house that you’ve just set on fire. it burned his skin and his veins, he felt so mad at hephaestion for making him lose control. he could tell by the look in his eyes that he was enjoying it, that made him even angrier. in a fraction of a second, he rolled on top of hephaestion, grabbing his hands and pinning him down. he was basically panting, the pulse of desire had transformed the room, for a moment he forgot where they were, that if anybody found him here—he couldn’t look away. the shape of his mouth was daring him to move closer, still forming a half smile, his breath escaping his lips rapidly. they were breathing in tandem, his hands clutching hephaestion’s wrist, gently pushing him down with his weight.

the imploring look in his eyes made him lean in, unthinking. he pressed a soft kiss to hephaestion’s neck and he could tell by the low voice that had left hephaestion, that it wasn’t what he was expecting. alexander kissed him one more time, moving down to his collarbone and back, he was trying to breathe him in. he smelled like crushed almonds and heavy rain, he was the clear air alexander needed after a long run, the safe haven alexander would fantasise about when he was trying to get away from his responsibilities, when the weight of the world was crushing him as if he was atlas. hephaestion was the unexplored land of possibilities, slowly opening himself up to his touch, offering himself.  
alexander slowly pulled back, his lips broke apart from hephaestion’s skin only for a second, to look into his eyes. the kiss was alive between them before it even happened, he felt as if he was a child again, innocent, unsure of exactly what to do. he always felt that way about kissing hephaestion.

hephaestion was holding himself in one place, being careful not to disturb alexander, letting him enjoy every passing second. alexander was staring at his lips, that he gently bit as he drew in a breath, then parted. alexander saw hephaestion close his eyes and letting himself over to alexander as he leaned in, and pressed a single kiss to hephaestion’s mouth. hephaestion, unthinkingly, let out a small moan as he tasted alexander, which drove him to the edge, and after a momentary parting, in which alexander felt hephaestion’s shallow breathing against his own lips, he released hephaestion wrists, leaned in again, and delivered a deep kiss he was longing for.  
they stopped after a few minutes to take a few extra breaths, although alexander felt like breathing was a waste of time, when there was something clearly more rewarding to do. the slow, open-mouthed kisses became rougher, then, when hephaestion gently pushed alexander away, alexander asked, ‘can it always be like this?’  
he thought of the day ahead of them; they were closer to the morning than midnight, they only had a couple of hours until the morning preparations began, and he was needed in the palace.

hephaestion looked at him with an unconscious smile, as if he didn’t want to acknowledge that this—whatever this was—had an expiry date in a few hours.  
‘not always,’ hephaestion said, and then, when alexander’s smile disappeared, ‘but until the morning.’  
that was enough, for now. he groaned into hephaestion’s neck, and started silently laughing, he couldn’t help it. they were both going to feel their aching bones in the morning, the lack of sleep and the dream-like touch of their soft beds during the day, but he didn’t care.  
‘until the morning.’


End file.
